Four Years at Random Encounters

     Last Thursday was the four year anniversary of this blog, this last year being the most active. I am hoping to keep steaming ahead through this next year, and will be bringing more interviews, maps, and craziness to you all. I have sent in my artwork that I have completed so far, looking forward to seeing it in print. Most of my artwork so far has been for a small local gallery that closed down a several years ago, leaving me with no immediate outlet for my art. I stopped creating soon after, but  recently I have gotten back "in the game" as it were, and am having a blast.

     Coming up soon is Origins, and I still plan to run my DCC game that Wednesday evening at my local flgs in case anyone coming in wants to play. I intend to interview someone there, though I have no one in mind at the moment. Also I am willing to run Labyrinth Lord, Mutant Future, or DCC rpg in any of the open areas at the con. So let me know if you want to stop by and play, leave a comment or whatever. Take care folks.

I've got my eyes on you guys!

Spidergoat, Spidergoat...

Spidergoat, spidergoat. That's all there is, that's all she wrote.

     Not really, but that is all I can show you at this time. Got myself moving on these art projects, still working on the pieces for Sniderman over at Savage Afterworld, I am hoping everyone involved likes what I have done so far. Looking forward to hearing back from Crawling Under a Broken Moon. Really excited since this is the first time I have submitted art for a publication. Also I am happy that I got my work scanned and sent instead of worrying about it. Action over inaction. Alright, enough of this, got to go to work, later guys!

Today's productivity hindered

     I was hoping to get some illustrations scanned today, but alas it was all for naught. Thursday, hopefully, I will get these scanned and sent on their way. I am contributing some art to Crawling Under a Broken Moon, a DCC fanzine, and Deviant Database 2, a "mutant manual" for Mutant Future. I hope my work is good enough, I can't wait for you guys to see it. I hope to have a regular sized post tomorrow.

     Take care, all!

Disappointment Today

     So, only one person showed up to today's DCC game, and he carpooled with me. I am disappointed but I am still going forward with my plans for the next two games.  Fall down six times, get up seven is my mantra at the moment.

     June 11th at 6, that is the Wednesday of Origins. Traditionally nothing really happens that night, so hopefully there will be folks wanting to get started early with their rpg playing. I am planning to run it at Ravenstone but it can be moved to the convention if necessary. The next game I am scheduling is for Sunday June 22nd, 1:30 at Ravenstone. There is a sign up sheet for both games and if you wish to play, you can let me know in the comments. Currently I don't believe the game is on until I have the right number of players at the table. I advertise these games with various Google + communities Twitter, and Facebook as well as sign up sheets. Is there an avenue that I am missing? Later.

Purple Sorcerer's Crawler's Companion

     I hope everyone who is planning to try DCC rpg (especially at my game this Monday) see's this post or has discovered this app. Purple Sorcerer has a few free tools for the game but this is the most useful, especially for new players wanting to try the game out. It has a dice roller that I have used for other games systems, it really comes in handy when I need to roll some dice at work. Shh, don't let my boss know. In addition to the roller, it has the charts/tables you need to run/play a game of DCC.

     Just wanted to put that out there, I am so looking forward to my game this Monday and writing the subsequent post regarding it. Take care, later folks!

Wednesday, May 21st

     Just some meandering here, today. The news of WotC's release plans and stuff for 5E has lit the interwebs these past few days. I am in the camp of "I'll wait and see." since I am playing Labyrinth Lord/Mutant Future and DCC. Their adventures sound cool, at least the Dead in Thay stuff. At the very least I will be paying attention to their adventure releases.

     I keep forgetting to mention, being a part of the order of the 30, when I run a game I will let everyone know that once per person they can substitute a d30 for any one die roll. this will begin with my DCC game this next Monday. Also, I should be submitting games to run at Con on the Cob soon. Really looking forward to all the cons this year, but especially CotC!

     That is all for now, take care folks!

Jonesing to Play/Run

     Went to print out the pamphlets for my Memorial Day game and my ink ran out on me, at least I am hoping it's just ink. I want to make it easy for the players to enjoy themselves with a minimum of looking up stuff. If I am lucky they will come back for more. I currently have the pdf of DCC and am waiting to see how it runs and if I can get others to play on at least a semi regular basis.

     As you can see, I am getting my mustache ready for all the plots I wish to unleash upon the players. In other news, I have reserved my room at Gary Con for next year which I am really excited about.At least I have Origins, Gen Con and Con on the Cob in the interim. Here's hoping for smooth sailing this year and next!

Random Background Aid

     So I was thinking of a way to spice up backgrounds for new characters, and maybe something to use in games now and then. After thinking awhile on it, I decided the information would go on index cards and the "randomiser" would be a deck of cards. So I worked up an initial list with the idea that two through ten was only nine cards, that it did not matter what suite you had. Face cards would be cooler in their effect and jokers got you two draws instead of one.

     I like to write up stuff like this, as opposed to going straight to a computer, I am more comfortable rearranging things on a page than on a screen. This list is for my upcoming DCC game, so some of the wording relates to that. Example is the ability scores agility, personality, and luck. For future versions of this I can just write up new index cards and set up a list for that. Let's start with what I have.
Random Background Aid
2. Crappy starting items! If the character goes to swing a starting weapon, or make a souffle and rolls a one on the die, it shatters magnificently.
3. Tragedy in the family! Maybe a fire wiped out the family farm, or Grandma went crazy and took a hatchet to most of the family. Whatever it was, it was tragic.
4. Repulsed! The character is disgusted by another character or major npc of the locale the group is in.
5. Allergy, minor. The character has an allergy to something. Mostly they might get a little sniffly or possibly sneeze at the wrong time. Who knows?
6. Phobia, minor. There is something that disturbs this character, just not to the extent of totally freaking out.
7. Contacts, legitimate. This character has contacts in the locale that may be able to help. The head of the town guard could be your cousin!
8. Contact, shady. The character knows some people who maybe do bad things, who's to say?
9. Attracted! Their is another character or local npc that this person likes a lot. Maybe they cannot form complete sentences in this person's presence, who can tell?
Jack of Spades- Allergy, Major. You have one heck of an allergy and when it is around, you have a tough time doing anything. Good Luck!
Jack of Hearts- Feat of Personality. You get a chance to pull off something amazing in the charismatic personality department. Maybe talk your way past some guards, or get someone to hand over their keys!
Jack of Clubs- Phobia, major. Something freaks the beejeezus out of your character, and hopefully the climax of the adventure does not involve it! Hopefully it is not snakes, I mean, why does it have to be snakes?
Jack of Diamonds- Feat of Wisdom. Maybe you can ask for a common sense roll, or a get out of stupid free card? Something involving you innate inner voice.
Queen of Spades- Wanted! Either the character looks like a wrongdoer or he has done something bad in his past that has gotten him on the wrong side of the law. Happy dodging the town guard!
Queen of Hearts- Unknown Benefactor. Someone out there has your character's best interests at heart. They are willing to pull strings (or maybe kill) for you. Just be careful what you ask for.
Queen of Clubs- Heirloom! Originally I wrote this as an artifact, but decided at the last minute to change it. It could be a single use item or something special the character can carry with them forever. Hopefully it is not cursed, just saying.
Queen of Diamonds- Unknown Lineage. The poor character doesn't know where he is originally from, or maybe he is adopted. Maybe he is the orphaned son of wizards who died trying to... nah, that is too cheesy.
King of Spades- Feat of Agility. You get to moonwalk your way through a battle, or parkour yourself up and over a wall. You'll look superfly doing it, too!
King of Hearts- Feat of Stamina. Someone tries to poison you? Shrug it off with no worries. Critical fumble looks like it is going to mess you up, fuggedaboutit.
King of Clubs- Feat of Strength. Need a door opened or a hole punched through something? Then your the person for the job!
King of Diamonds- Feat of Intelligence. Suddenly become the smartest person in  the room, if only for an instant.
Ace of Spades- Double your starting money. Pretty self explanatory, you got lucky with your money.
Ace of Hearts- Feat of Luck. Looks like you're going down in flames? Need to make a luck roll or you're toast? Be the envy of everyone at the table and throw this card down!
Ace of Clubs- Better than average starting equipment. You got the fancy bag of night soil, silly gong farmer. If a fumble says your weapon breaks, it doesn't, or maybe you just drop it. On your foot. Really hard.
Ace of Diamonds- Lucky! For this game, you get a +1 to all of your rolls. You sly dawg, you.

     In reference to the Feats of, they are a one time use thing.So choose carefully. Alright, tell me what you all think about this? It is definitely a work in progress. Later guys!

Quick post about my Memorial Day game

     So Monday, May 26th at 3:00 PM. in Ravenstone Games, Columbus Ohio I will be running a game of Dungeon Crawl Classics. It will be a 0 level funnel and I am typing up the setting on Obsidian Portal here. I am calling it Black Temple of the Ravening Gods and I hope it plays as cool as that sounds. Any interested parties should leave a comment stating they are interested in playing. Otherwise, you will all hear about it on the other side!

Coming up on an anniversary

      May 29th 2010 I put my first post out here, and here I am, approaching this blog's fourth birthday. Over 200 posts and nearing the 10,000 page view mark has me thinking about all the different things I have posted here these past few years. Interviews, maps and such have moved through here, with a few ideas left hanging.

     One of these days I want to pull all of my Tinker posts together, give it a polish and see what you all think. I will be doing more maps in the future, March was a blast for me. I also hope to post more OSR stuff here with different creatures, items and stuff. This is where I admit my April Artifice was a bit of a bust.

     I will be at Origins, Gen Con, and Con on the Cob this year and I hope to be at Gary Con next year. A lot of things to look forward to. I am currently trying to get a DCC game off the ground, with a game on Memorial Day. I just have to settle on where to have it, in case my flgs is closed that day. In closing I will leave you folks with this question, what would you like to see here? Take care and I will be back!

New Campaign

     I started a new campaign on Obsidian Portal, called Black Temple of the Ravening Gods. I want to run it with DCC to emphasize the weird darkness I hope to bring to it. I have used it once before when I was running my 4E game, there should be at least one map soon. I like the wiki aspect where I can add stuff/edit/link various things, and then I can look at what I have and smooth it out. Memorial day weekend is when I hope to run the first adventure in this world I am building, and it will be a joint effort, I will just lay the foundation like I did my 4E game. Anyone out there that is in the Columbus area that wants to play, let me know. I am hoping to run it at Ravenstone, but I have backup locations just in case. Take care all!

Going to Gen Con 2014

     Received notice that my application for a media pass has been accepted and therefore I will be attending Gen Con this year. Just need to figure out when I will be there and who I will be interviewing when I get there. Going through the artists attending I see several I would like to interview, though their awesomeness gives me pause (ie. I am nervous I will blow it, lol) I just need to remind myself of the interviews I have already done. Brave heart, Jim.

     In addition to doing interviews with famous artists, I hope to play/run some games and maybe a few demos. I am really looking forward to this and hope to be there more than one day this time. Anyone of my readers who are going, please let me know. I often wonder who is reading these posts. Well, you guys take care!

One Month Until Origins

     Here we are, a month away from the big show here in Columbus. Wednesday I will be running a game of Dungeon Crawl Classics at Ravenstone games that night, at 6:00 and I am hoping to run some games at the con in the free play area. Anyone interested in playing, let me know, I will be in touch with members of the GGO if anyone there wants to play. I am up for running Labyrinth Lord, Mutant Future, Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space, and DCC. Take care guys!

Upcoming DCC at Ravenstone! Plus my Appendix N

     Next month, I plan to run DCC at Ravenstone games, Wednesday (@ 6:00) and Saturday the 21st (Free RPG Day @ 1:00) I am also hoping to play some DCC at Origins. In addition to that, I have been listening to an excellent podcast focusing on DCC called Spellburn. Give it a shot, their passion lies in DCC but they occasionally bring up other games, usually in a "this is cool." or "how can I use/convert this to DCC" Wonderful stuff.

     Moving onto my next topic, during an episode of Spellburn, a listener sent an e-mail full of questions and the one that stuck out to me was what is each of the hosts Appendix N? That got me thinking about if I ran DCC, what would I draw from to build my campaign world? After some careful consideration I have four main things. The first is Robert Howard's Conan, for the savagery and how dangerous and corrupting magic can be. Then Lucio Fulci's Gates of Hell trilogy, for the mythology that's seems to exist there with creepy ghost kids speaking through photos and disturbing visuals. Clive Barker for the horror fantasy vibe going through his stories, especially looking at my favorite explorers in agony and ecstasy- cenobites! Finally I would pull stuff from Adventure Time, with it's Ice King, talking dog Jake, and a candy kingdom. Sheer poetry, friends.

     So, what is your personal Appendix N/ What do you think of mine? Let's hear some feedback. Take care everyone!

Today's Gamer Action

     So today was the spring GGO picnic/reason to get together, play games and grill. GGO is the Gamers Guild of Ohio and we had an out of town member who was back in town (that does not sound right) so we met up at the local park. Unfortunately it was so windy we were unable to play, much less eat as food was getting blown off the tables. Finally we decided to adjourn to nearby Ravenstone to play some of the games people brought along. When I arrived at the store, there was a group getting ready to play Sentinels of the Multiverse, Paperback, and I think there was a few people in the back playing backgammon. I decided to sit out and work on my wilderness map, and play around with my d30s I had just picked up.

     As you can see, in addition to the two dice, I picked up two Reaper pre paints and a Pathfinder undead figure. Towards the end, after the one group finished Sentinels four of them played the Amazing Labyrinth, at least that is how it was spelled on the box. All in all it was great time, with good food and friends. Hope you all had a decent May fourth, and take care!

Trying out some new paper

     So on a recent trip to an art store to get some supplies, I found a spinner rack full of Fabriano notebooks of varying sizes, comparable to the Moleskine rack. What really got my attention was the notebook full of dotted paper, and the isometric possibilities that may hold.

     I immediately began thinking how I could work it in an isometric fashion, so far to no avail. I did, however, start using it to do these types of overland maps. This is not the finished map, obviously, I decided each square will have a point of interest to it. Well, maybe not every square but most.

     When it is finished I will scan it, but since it is just getting started I figured I would just snap a quick picture. I started with penciling an isometric grid and then either adding rough detail in pencil then inking over it (the town and farm buildings) or free handing in ink (the forest and it's details) Let me know what you think and if any of you have any experience doing this. Thanks guys and take care!

Running a game in public

     First off, this is my two-hundred and first post. A little low for a four year old blog, but I have really stepped up the pace this past year. Enough about that, on with the show. I have been thinking about running games in public, not at my local store but out where the norms can see. I have thought about reserving a room at the library, which means I have to plan enough in advance to get one. It seems if you aren't three months ahead you cannot get one. Recently I have been eye balling a local coffee shop that has a lot of extra room, with tables and chairs. Plus it is on the small college campus here, so I might actually get some people showing up.

     I am excited and nervous at the thought. I really want to run fantasy, as in Labyrinth Lord or possibly DCC. I am not sure how that will go in public, if someone decides their character is a little dark how should I deal with that? Obviously if it is just the players and myself I would not be worried, but if the shop is busy? Maybe I am fretting needlessly. On the flip side, I could also run the Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space rpg. Decisions, decisions!

     Well, let me know what you guys think, comments are welcome. Take care everyone!